The Farm Visit

Part of our tour was to experience the experiences and everyday life of a local farmer in Switzerland.
The tour also advertised that we would actually milk a cow and taste farm fresh Swiss cheese. The
farmer was very frank with us about the difficulties of dairy farming and told us that dairy farming was
too much work. It was more profitable to raise steers for beef, importing meat to restaurants around
the world. He offered us a table spread with various breads and several cheeses. We were in the
Bernese Oberland area, and he told us this was the best kind of local cheese available. I asked where his
cheese shed was, and where did he produce the cheese. The farmer explained that the cheese did not
come from his farm. Steers do not produce milk beyond that for their calves. He smiled sheepishly (or
bovinely) and told us that he bought the cheese. I wonder if it was imported from Wisconsin!

Home-Hosted Dinner

We enjoyed a home hosted dinner with a couple from Brienz. Their home was built in the 1700’s.
Although renovated for modern use, it had wide oak floorboards, casement windows, low door lintels,
and a lot of history. Our hosts were in love with history. Charlotte was a university professor of art
history; her husband, Daniel, was an archaeologist in charge of all the ancient artifacts discovered and
curated in their canton. We had a very lively discussion. This is an excerpt of our discussion about
American versus Swiss politics.

“America is so divided, all the people we meet from the US have such strong and divergent opinions. We
don’t understand it. We here is Switzerland focus our energy on compromise, forming coalitions, finding
ways to work without argument or dissention. All of us must give in a little otherwise we destroy each
other. Before a local election, we get a raft of information on the topic and on the candidates, so we are
well informed. We cannot allow elected officials to avoid their responsibilities, or for citizens not to
engage and work together. Our laws and our culture are very strict and very clear about all of that. For
centuries we have been surrounded by countries we depend on, we cannot afford to make enemies.
That is one thing we cannot understand about Americans. Despite all the political strife and public
display of dissension, when it comes down to it, the Americans stand together behind their flag.”

Soup at Hooters

It was a cold, rainy evening in Interlaken. After sightseeing and shopping during the day, we were both
tired and looked for a nice place to sit down and have a warm bowl of soup. We searched up the street
after walking several blocks. It was after 10pm on a weeknight, and most of the restaurants were closed.
We spied a Hooters restaurant earlier that afternoon. I announced loudly that “I will never eat at a place
like that! After all the progress with the ‘Me Too’ movement, places like Hooters still exist and still
objectify women.” Needless to say, I had to eat my words. No other restaurant that served soup was
open. I ate my soup very humbly in a Hooters restaurant in Switzerland. Across from my table was a
photo of the original Hooters, founded in Clearwater, Florida, USA.

Eating Sausage

Sausage of all kinds abound in alpine cuisine. I was very curious why local diners stared at us American
diners eating sausage. We slice our sausage and eat it, casing on. Swiss carefully cut the sausage from
top to bottom, peel off the casing with a fork and knife, the slice it and eat it. Who knew?

Osteria d’Amici is a little snack and pizza bar in the town of Lago Maggiore. It was featured on one of
Rick Steves TV travelogues, touring Italy for great pizza. Rick hit it on the mozzarella this time! Pizza at
this place was sublime-light, crisp crust, just the right amount of sauce, not drenched or parched of
tomato, and buffalo cheese. The tour guides recommended this place very often. Luckily we did not
have to wait long for a table.

We learned from experience that Italians, and I think Europeans too, do not eat pizza with their hands.
Our practice of eating pizza that way is considered barbaric and poor manners, aside from poor hygiene.
Pizza in Italy is always eaten with a knife and fork. They do not have take out boxes, nor do they sell
slices in Lago Maggiore.

Difference among Osteria, Trattoria, Restaurant

There are different classes of eateries in Italy. Osteria is a wine bar that serves snacks. It evolved to a
place where one could have a drink and a sandwich, then later to a light meal.

Trattoria is a family style restaurant that is informal. Usually items are served on family style platters
rather than individual plates. Paper placemats are used instead of tablecloths. There is usually one
waiter that serves drinks and meals, not an individual waiter for each course as in a formal restaurant.

Restaurant comes from the French idea that a restaurant is a place to rest and be served a meal in a very
elaborate and elegant way. Tables are set with immaculate white tablecloths. Depending on the time of
day, the tablescape might include a candle and a small arrangement of flowers. Dinner service is usually
presented on individual plates offered on a larger underliner plate called a charger. The tableware is
usually well-appointed China, with silverware and glasses for each course of food and wine. There is a
maître d’hôtel that is the supervisor of the wait captains in each section of the restaurant. Specific wait
staff serves the bread and water at each table. The table waiter takes your order after reciting the
specials of the day and the signature dishes of the establishment. The wine steward will approach the
diner with suggestions for wine paired with each course of the meal. He will allow the host to sample
the wine before pouring a glass for him and each guest pending his approval of the steward’s choice of
vintage. Another waiter serves the meal. A bus boy will clear the dishes after each course and brush
crumbs off the table into a small tray, leaving the table pristine for the next course. Dessert is usually
displayed on a dessert cart where the diner can choose his favorite confection. The waiter returns with
the diner’s choice of sweets that is melded with after dinner drinks and coffee or espresso. The more
elaborate the dining setting and menu, the more the bill increases exponentially!

Edelweiss

Edelweiss is a small, white mountain wildflower that grows along roadsides and grassy paths. It is
emblematic of the alpine countryside and a harbinger of spring. The Broadway musical, “The Sound of
Music’, written in 1959, featured the song, “Edelweiss” composed by Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein II. The song became an anthem for the purity of the homeland, and the longing of the Von
Trapp family in the story to return to their beloved Austrian countryside. The song became so popular,
many believed it was the national anthem of Austria. Our tour guide set the record straight. She told us
that the movie “The Sound of Music” was never released in Europe, and many Europeans, especially
Austrians never heard this song. Americans associate Austria with Julie Andrews running down the
Austrian hills singing “Edelweiss.” Most Austrians, she told us, only know of Julie Andrews from the
movie, “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang.” Another myth falls to the floor!

Being at the top of Europe

From Interlaken we took a tram from Grindelwald to board a cog train to the “top of Europe.” We rode
not to the top but to the Kleine Scheidegg station an elevation of 2061 meters ( 6,762 feet) approaching
the top of Jungfrau. The group of mountains most prominent in the Swiss alps are the Matterhorn at
4478 meters, the Jungfrau at 4122 meters, and Monch at 4107 meters. We had lunch at the Kleine
Scheidegg station when I began to feel a little giddy and dizzy. My breathing was labored. Simply walking
up the path, though steep, was not difficult to negotiate, yet I felt exhausting. Later, when I looked at
the altitude marker I realized I had experienced the effects of thinning oxygen. It was a new experience
for me.

It is possible to get to the very top of Jungfrau by cable car. There is an outpost and a revolving
restaurant at the very top. I decided to pass on that adventure and settled for what was enough for me.
Our stop was almost one and a quarter miles above sea level. I have been to the Grand Canyon and
viewed the earth a mile below from the entrance to Bright Angel Trail. Now I pondered that depth
upward from where I was standing on a cog train platform. The experience was truly mind-boggling.